Han Zhaofeng was sitting on a chair inside Zhong Cheng Hall. He was soaked, but he refused the towel Luo Heng offered him. In front of him were the remaining Enforcers. He counted them one by one, inwardly.
Twenty-seven Enforcers, including Luo Heng, Wu Zhenhai, and Yan Zhen. Twenty-eight, counting himself. And twenty-nine, if he counted Bai Xunli.
Twenty-seven Enforcers. We are reduced to twenty-seven Enforcers.
None of the twenty-seven was without a wound; some injuries were more severe than others, but every single one of them bore fresh wounds.
"I know you have a lot of questions," Han Zhaofeng began. His voice was laced with exhaustion. "And I can give you the answers."
Han Zhaofeng looked at them, one by one. "I want to give you answers."
He sighed. "What happened today—let this be a warning to all of us. Our enemies will stop at nothing. They will not give us time to catch our breath. They will not show us mercy. And, most of all, they will not give us respect."
He straightened his back. "But I promise you, let Heaven and all of you be my witnesses: I, Han Zhaofeng, swear, I will not let what happened today be the end of us."
One of the Enforcers cried silently. Others clenched their teeth or tightened their fists.
"But for now, I need us to lay low," Han Zhaofeng continued.
"We cannot let them detect our movements. I need you to keep up appearances as the defeated ICEB they believe us to be."
Hearing that, some Enforcers had light in their eyes. But most of them were still lifeless.
Han Zhaofeng noticed this. Most of the Enforcers were ready to give up. And he couldn't blame them. He almost gave up himself. If it wasn't for Xuan Tian, he would have already left.
"One hundred and eighty-nine."
"One hundred and eighty-nine," Han Zhaofeng repeated. "ICEB had 189 Enforcers."
"That was the most Enforcers ICEB ever had at one time. We lost some to duty and missions, others to cultivation mistakes."
Han Zhaofeng took a breath. "Since our altercation with the Alliance started three years ago, we have lost more than a hundred brothers, and today—" His voice broke.
"Today…" Fresh tears fell down his cheeks. "Only we remain. Take a good look."
"Take a good look!"
His voice rose with his anger. "And count! There are only twenty-eight of us left!"
"Do you really think I'm not mad? Do you really think I don't want to kill them?!"
No one made a noise. Only Han Zhaofeng's panting was heard.
"But we have to admit that, currently, we do not have the power to retaliate. You have been trained to know when to attack, and when it is time to stop advancing—withdraw, recuperate, then launch a surprise attack, haven't you? Well, this time is no different."
"Now is the time when we stop. It is time for us to withdraw. Withdraw from the fight? No! Withdraw from the battlefield, but not the war. We are outnumbered. I am not as powerful as before. We need to do this smart."
Han Zhaofeng looked around. He gave the Enforcers time to absorb what he had just said. Soon, he saw some of them with thoughtful expressions, as if their minds were processing it.
Wu Zhenhai was the first to lift his head and look at him. One of his eyes was swollen shut, but the other was wide open. His mouth opened and closed, without saying anything.
Han Zhaofeng smiled lightly at him. Wu Zhenhai was among the most severely wounded. He was still standing only because of sheer determination.
Seeing the smile, Wu Zhenhai suddenly started laughing. His laugh grew louder. The others looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Wu Zhenhai didn't care; he laughed until he couldn't anymore.
His body began to sway. He couldn't take it anymore and was about to collapse when Yan Zhen caught him and helped him to a nearby chair. Wu Zhenhai was still smiling. This time, he grinned widely and stared at Han Zhaofeng.
Huh. Han Zhaofeng scoffed. He's a Captain for a reason.
"Captain, why are you laughing?" Luo Heng asked Wu Zhenhai.
Wu Zhenhai didn't look at him; he kept his gaze on Han Zhaofeng – still grinning. "Ask Han Shengzun."
Everyone turned their heads back to Han Zhaofeng. No one was wearing a defeated expression now. They were curious—some even had hope.
"Tossing me the responsibility to explain your madness? I'll let this one slip because you're wounded," Han Zhaofeng said, holding his smile.
"Your Captain Wu is laughing because he is relieved. He's relieved because he understands what I'm trying to say."
"What I'm trying to say is: no, I do not agree with the Imperial Edict. I only said yes because it will buy us time—time to find out what is going on and how to fight back. So right now, we clean. We clean this place and get it ready for the Alliance to move in. Let them move in. This is our home. We know this place better than anyone. Them moving in is perfect. Let them think they have conquered us, defeated us."
"Using our knowledge of this place, we can move freely, undetected by them, while we gather information to defeat them."
Han Zhaofeng couldn't be clearer. He didn't want misunderstanding or doubt to sprout among them. They needed to stay united—only then could they emerge victorious.
Hearing this, some of the Enforcers burst out in tears, crying openly. Some cheered. Some just stood there, with a huge smile on their faces. The gloomy atmosphere changed instantly. Even the rain seemed to understand and stopped.
Luo Heng was grinning widely like a fool. Yan Zhen, smiled with tears on his cheeks. Wu Zhenhai was wheezing, struggling to balance his laughs and the necessity to breath.